Republican lawmakers across Texas who are failing to represent their conservative constituents in Austin continue to draw primary challengers.
In House District 113 in east Dallas County, State Rep. Cindy Burkett (R-Sunnyvale) is being challenged by conservative business owner Jonathan Boos in the March 2018 Republican primary.
Burkett has a career “F” rating on Empower Texans’ Fiscal Responsibility Index – a sharp decline from 2011, her first year in the Texas Legislature. In fact, the leftward shift in her voting record has been so pronounced that in 2015, Rice University political science professor Mark Jones singled out Burkett as one of two Republican House members whose “ideological position within the GOP caucus shifted the most.” Her score on Jones’ scale was “significantly less conservative than more than half of her fellow Republicans.”
Boos – an attorney, small business owner, and local Republican Party leader – also challenged Burkett in 2016 and received 44 percent of the vote, despite being outspent more than three to one.
Boos says the need for consistent, principled, conservative leadership in Austin “is even more evident today than when I first threw my hat into the ring two years ago.”
“Nearly two years ago we told voters that the Texas House needed stronger conservative Representation. Now we all know that to be true. I stand alongside Governor Abbott and Lt. Governor Patrick in recognizing that without stronger conservative voices in the legislature, the House will continue to kill conservative reforms. I’m excited about all the support we have, and look forward to earning this community’s vote to represent them in the Texas House.”
On March 6, Republican primary voters in HD 113 have a choice, and a chance to replace an incumbent whose leftward-shifting voting record is failing to serve taxpayers’ interests.
